30 Best Spinners In The History of Cricket

Anil Kumble is probably the best among the many Indian spinners in the history of cricket. Kumble is the highest wicket taker from India.

The accuracy and intelligence that Kumble possessed made him an unstoppable wicket taker in the history of cricket. Although he did not have the action and turn like most of the spin bowlers, he used his accuracy and height to produce extra bounce toward the wicket.

Since his ball-spinning skills were inferior to those of other spinners at the beginning of his career, he was not given much credit. But Anil grew up to become one of the greatest leg spinners of all time thanks to his accuracy and the ability to pitch and bounce the ball wherever he wanted.

The awards of Anil Kumble include:

• 1995 Arjuna Award, a sporting award from the government of India.
• Best breakthrough performance award in IPL in the year 2009.
• Padma Shri award from the government of India.
• 1996 Wisden Cricketers of the Year award.

The achievements of Anil Kumble include:

• 483 international matches with 1,334 wickets.
• 619 wickets in test matches
• 337 wickets in ODI matches.

Andrew Symonds is an Australian international cricketer. Symonds played as an all-rounder who played all three formats.

Symonds is the key member of the team for winning two World Cup matches. He played as a medium pace and off-spin bowler and also as a middle order batsman. He was also an exceptional fielder and known for his fielding skills.

He was undoubtedly constructed for maximum effect. He appeared to be an intimidating opponent, standing a strong 6 feet 2 inches tall, with shoulder-length dreadlocks that at least occasionally were styled like war paint.

He was a great fielder and bowled off-spin and medium-pace, and in 1995, while playing for Gloucestershire, he demonstrated his ability as a hard-hitting batsman by hitting 16 sixes in one inning.

The awards of Andrew Symonds include:

• World record holder for most sixes hits in an inning for 20 years.

The achievements of Andrew Symonds include:

• 5,088 runs and 133 wickets in ODI matches.
• Two time World Cup winner.
• The most expensive overseas player in IPL in the year 2008.
• Second-highest individual score in an ODI inning.

Shane Warne is unarguably the best spinner of all time. Warne is the highest wicket taker from Australia and second highest internationally.

Warne is considered the best leg spinner of all time. His leg spin and flipper ended up taking more than 1000 wickets in international matches. He was the captain of the Australian team.

Warne advanced greatly after making his debut in international cricket against India with the poor bowling figures of 1/150. Warne is the second-highest wicket taker in cricket history with a total of 708 wickets from 145 test matches, making him the highest wicket taker for Australia. 

Shane is one of the greatest bowlers in history, with a top-spin that he can disguise well and a couple or different googlies that he can control with finesse. His success helped revive the almost extinct leg spinners craft and added variety to a fast bowling centric sport. 

He was the first bowler to record 700 Test wickets in 2006. Warne’s ability to incredibly turn the ball with great accuracy is of no match. Shane Warne is without a doubt the greatest leg spinner of all time.

The awards of Shane Warne include:

• One of the 2000 Wisden Cricketers of the Century.
• Best spin bowler of all time by Richie Benaud and the Australian public.
• Awarded with honorary life membership of Marylebone Cricket Club in the year 2009.
• Inducted into the  Cricket Hall of Fame by Cricket Australia in the year 2012.
• Inducted into the  ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in the year 2013.

The achievements of Shane Warne include:

• 339 international matches with 1,001 wickets.
• 708 wickets from 145 test matches.
• 293 wickets in 194 ODI matches.
• Highest wicket taker of Australia and the second highest wicket taker in the history of cricket.

Muttiah Muralitharan is a unique off spinner from Sri Lanka. Muralitharan is the all time highest wicket taker in Test cricket and ODI.

Muttiah Muralitharan had a unique style of bowling which included using his wrist to make sharp turns. He is the first wrist off-spinner in the history of cricket. 

Muralitharan was considered a very difficult spin bowler to face on any pitch and any playing condition. He was criticized for chucking the ball instead of bowling many times but he proved it wrong after a bowling test.

He shocked the cricket world in 1998 where he took Sri lanka to their first ever test match victory against England in their own home ground with the figure of 7 for 155 and 9 for 65. 

In the year 2000, he continued his brilliant gameplay where he took 6 for 87 and 7 for 84 against the South African team. He retired in the year 2011 after the 2011 ICC world cup

The awards of Muttiah Muralitharan include:

• Award of Most Man of the Series in Test cricket.
• ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup victory in the year 1996.

The achievements of Muttiah Muralitharan include:

• 483 matches with 1,334 wickets.
• Held the ICC number 1 spot for 1,711 days.
• Inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
• Most wickets taken in test matches with more than 800 wickets.
• Most international wickets taken in Tests, ODI and T20 matches combined.
• Most balls bowled in Test matches and international matches.
• The only player to take more than 100 wickets in a calendar year four times.

Ravichandran Ashwin is regarded as the best spinner in the world at present time. He is often compared with the spin legend Anil Kumble.

Ashwin is an Indian international cricketer who plays as an all-rounder and bowls with his right arm as an off-break spinner. He plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and the Tamil Nadu team in domestic cricket.

Ravichandran Ashwin bowls with great discipline and uses too many variations in his bowling. This confuses the batsmen which allows Ashwin to take more wickets and give fewer runs to the opponent. So, he is one of the most economical bowlers. 

He is the highest ranked spinner in test matches and also the highest ranked test bowler for India currently.

The awards of Ravichandran Ashwin include:

• “ICC Cricketer of the Year award” in the year 2016.
• Earned his sixth Man-of-the-Series Award in the year 2016.

The achievements of Ravichandran Ashwin include:

• 243 international matches with 638 wickets.
• 427 wickets in only 81 test matches.
• Ranked the number 1 bowler in ICC Test Rankings history along with Ravindra Jadeja.
• Nominated for the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade in 2020.
• Named  in “ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year” in the year 2021

Saqlain Mushtaq is the most innovative spinner in the history of cricket. He is best known for inventing the famous delivery named doosra.

Mushtaq is a former Pakistani international cricketer and also the head coach of the Pakistani cricket team as of 2022. He pioneered the famous delivery known as “doosra”, an off-break spin with a leg break delivery. He revolutionized off-spin bowling with the invention of doosra.

Although Mushtaq has not taken as many wickets as others on this list, he changed and inspired the spinners in the history of cricket. He was an aggressive bowler and bowled in the death overs in ODI matches for the Pakistani cricket team.

The awards of Saqlain Mushtaq include:

• Selected as one of the “Wisden Cricketers of the Year” in the year 2000.

The achievements of Saqlain Mushtaq include:

• 218 international matches with 496 wickets.
• 208 wickets in ODI and 288 wickets in test matches.
• Holds the record for most ODI wickets in a calendar year-69 in 1997
• First of two spinners to take a hat-trick in an ODI match.

Harbhajan Singh is a retired Indian cricketer and cricket commentator who played from 1998 to 2016. He captained Mumbai Indians in IPL.

Harbajan Singh is also a member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha of India. He was a right arm spin bowler. Harbajan for Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

He is nicknamed “The Turbanator” because of his turban and his ability to terminate his opponent’s defences easily. He is one of the best wrist spinners of all time.

After 10 years with the Mumbai Indians team, he was released by the team and was bought by Chennai for the Indian T20 series. Harbajan left the T20 tournament just before the league due to personal reasons.

He has not played in national matches of any format since 2016. Although he has not announced his retirement officially, it seems unlikely that he will make any comebacks.

The awards of Harbhajan Singh include:

• Received Arjuna Award in the year 2003.
• Received Padma Shri award in the year 2009.
• Won the “T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup” in the year 2011.

The achievements of Harbhajan Singh include:

• 339 international matches with 711 wickets.
• 417 wickets in 103 test matches.
• First Indian bowler to take a Hat-trick in a test match.
• Most successful off-spinner of India in test matches.

Rashid Khan has made a household name in the history of cricket. He is the former captain of the Afghanistan cricket team.

Rashid plays for Gujarat Titans in the IPL,  Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s BBL league, and Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan’s PSL league. He bats right handed and is a right arm leg spinner.

He was one of the players to play the first ever test match of Afganisthan in 2018, which was against India. He returned as one of the most expensive bowlers in a nation’s maiden Test match.

His career success ascended and became one of the rising stars of Afghanistan. He achieved many records on his path. He took 7 wickets in an ODI match against the West Indies and became the first cricketer from an associate nation to accomplish this feat. There was no stopping the Afghan tsunami after the ICC named him the Associate Cricketer of the Year in 2018. 

The awards of Rashid Khan include:

• Awarded with “Associate Cricketer of the Year Award” in the year 2017.
• Awarded with ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Decade (2011-2020) in 2022.
• Indian Premier League champion’s award in the year 2022.

The achievements of Rashid Khan include:

• 135 international matches with 277 wickets.
• Youngest player to become the number 1 bowler in ODI Rankings of the ICC.
• The first player to take 5 wickets in only 2 overs.
• Featured as the team of the decade in ICC T20I.
•  The second best career bowling average in ODI cricket with an average of 18.5.

Graeme Swann was one of the prime off-spinners of his time. He was famous for inventing the flying saucer ball technique.

Graeme Swann is a former cricketer who played for the team of England. He was an all rounder with great bowling and batting records.

Although Swann is not the greatest ball turner, his ability to drift and loop the ball made him a challenging bowler to tackle. His technique named “Flying saucer ball” is one of his best weapons. 

He was always an attacking spin bowler and was always eager to pick up wickets. Swann was handed the captaincy of the England team in the T20 series against West Indies.

In early 2013, he was out of action for some time because of his elbow surgery but again made a comeback with strong numbers and strong gameplay.

The awards of Graeme Swann include:

• Awarded with BBC East Midlands Sports Awards in the year 2011.
• England Cricketer of the year award.
• Awarded with Brit Men’s Cricketer of the Year award.

The achievements of Graeme Swann include:

• 178 international matches with 410 wickets.
• Record of Outstanding bowling in an inning.

Jim Laker is likely the greatest spinner in the History of England cricket. He achieved a world record of nineteen wickets in a test match.

Laker is no doubt among the best spinners of all time. He is a right arm off-break bowler. He was one of the greatest contributors to making the England cricket team a strong team. He is the greatest wicket taker that cricket ever had.

He is most known for being the first bowler to take all of the 10 wickets in a test match at Old Trafford in 1956. He took a total of nineteen wickets in that match. He later worked as a cricket commentator for BBC Sports.

The awards of Jim Laker include:

• Awarded with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 1956.
• New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year award in 1952.

The achievements of Jim Laker include:

• Only 46 international matches but with 193 wickets.
• The first player to take all of the 10 wickets in a test match innings.
• An unbroken record of 46 wickets in the five-test Ashes series in 1956.

Nathan Lyon is one of the best spinners in the world at present time. He has a great ability to turn the ball even on dry pitches.

Lyon is an Australian international cricketer who made his test match debut in 2011. He also plays for the New South Wales club domestically.

He is an off spin bowler and lower order right handed batsman. Lyon is considered the most successful off spin bowler in Australia. He holds a record for the most wickets taken by an Australian spinner.

Although he was once considered a weak spot in the Australian bowling team, he proved himself over time with successful gameplay and great wicket taking ability.

With just four first class matches, his career took a huge leap when he was offered to play for the Australian test squad against Sri Lanka in the year 2011. He came out as the leading wicket taker in the twenty-twenty Big Bash for his team that year.

He had quite a time in international cricket with his outstanding bowling with the figure of 5/34 during Australia’s away and home Ashes in the year 2013.

The awards of Nathan Lyon include:

• Awarded with “Australian Men’s Test Player of the Year” in the year 2019.
• Awarded with ICC Test Team of the Year in the year 2018 and 2019.

The achievements of Nathan Lyon include:

• 132 international matches with 433 wickets.
• The most wickets taken by an Australian off-spin bowler in test matches.

Saeed Ajmal is a former Pakistani cricketer and the coach of the Pakistani cricket team. He made a late entry into international cricket.

He is a right arm off spinner. With immense control over his bowling and mastering the doosra technique, he was a great threat to the best batsmen. He had the ability to play different unreadable balls while applying different creative techniques.

His bowling techniques were taken under scrutiny but were 

Despite his late entry into international cricket at the age of 31, it did not stop Ajmal from becoming one of the best spinners of all time. Ajmal is the quickest bowler to reach 100 wickets in the test series for the Pakistani team.

The awards of Saeed Ajmal include:

• Player of the match award in 2012.
• Awarded with the third highest civilian award (Sitara-e-Imtiaz award) by the Pakistani government.

The achievements of Saeed Ajmal include:

• 35 Test matches with 178 wickets.
• 113 ODI matches with 184 wickets.
• Held the first position in ODI bowling rankings from 2011 to 2014.
•  Joint fifth-fastest bowler in test matches.
• Ninth-highest wicket-taker in T20 matches. 64 T20 matches with 85 wickets.

Abdul Qadir is a Pakistani international cricketer who bowled leg spin. He was a legendary leg spinner in the 1970s and 1980s.

Abdul was an inspiration to many leg spinners in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a master of leg spinning having mastered the techniques of topspin, leg breaker, googly and flippers.

Later on, he worked as a commentator and Chief Selector for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) before resigning over disagreements with the country’s top cricket administrators.

He first captained the Pakistani team in five test matches. Although he was a great spinner, his captaincy skill was not as successful as his bowling skills having lost four out of the five test matches. He also captained in international matches which were equally unsuccessful.

There is no accurate information on the awards that Abdul Qadir achieved throughout his career.

The achievements of Abdul Qadir include:

• 171 international matches with 368 wickets.
• 67 test matches with 236 wickets.
• 104 ODI matches with 132 wickets.
• Inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

Richie Benaud was an Australian test cricketer. After his retirement from international cricket he became a cricket commentator.

Benaud is well known for his work as a cricket commentator on Channel 9. He is one of the most admired and illustrious individuals in Australian cricket history. He was the team’s most crucial wrist spinner and leg spinner in the 1950s and 1960s and changed the way of wrist spinning once and for all.

He became the captain of the Australian team in 1958 until his retirement in 1964. He was the first cricketer to reach 200 wickets and 2000 runs in test matches. 

Benaud can perhaps be described as the most influential cricketer and cricket personality of his time.

The awards of Richie Benaud include:

• Awarded a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Sports Broadcaster in 1999.

The achievements of Richie Benaud include:

• For his service to cricket, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961.
• Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
• Inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2007.
• Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Became an honouree at Bradman Foundation.
• Became the 40th Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2018.

Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar is a former Indian cricketer. He was the best defence India had against the best opposition batsmen.

Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar, also known as BS Chandrasekhar was a great leg spinner and one of the greatest test bowlers of all time. His best ability that made him one of the best leg spinners was his unpredictability in bowling which would often confuse the batsmen.

He was initially a fast bowler but later changed his playing style to spin bowling. He is one of only two test cricketers in history who has more numbers of wickets than total runs scored.

The awards of Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar include:

• Cricketer of the Year award by Indian Cricket in 1964.
• Awarded with Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1972.
• Awarded with Padmashri award in 1972.
• Awarded with Arjuna Award in 1972.

The achievements of Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar include:

• An incredible record of only 58 test matches with 242 wickets with an amazing average of 29.74.
• One of only two test cricketers in history who has more numbers of wickets than total runs scored.

Stuart MacGill is an Australian former cricketer. He played 44 Test matches and three ODI for the Australian national cricket team.

Stuart is a right arm leg spin bowler. He was constantly overshadowed by Shane Warne, Australia’s top test bowler. However, he is also one of the best spinners of all time and a force to reckon with.

He played for Western Australia, New South Wales, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Somerset in domestic cricket. After his retirement from international cricket, he moved into the commentary.

With his incredible ball control and exceptional ability to bowl unpredictable googly bowls, he is one of the best spinners in the history of cricket.

Stuart MacGill has no awards in his name but has achieved great achievements

The achievements of Stuart MacGill include:

• 44 test matches with 208 wickets. 
• 3 ODI matches with 6 wickets

Danesh Kaneria is a Pakistani former cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spinner.

Danesh is well known for his well-disguised googly bowls. He represented Pakistan in 61 Test matches, taking 261 wickets at an average of 34.79. He played for the team in just 18 ODIs, but in those 18 games, he took 15 wickets at an over 45 average.

Both of Kaneria’s best bowling performances in Test cricket were seven wickets for 77 runs in an innings and 12 wickets for 94 runs in a game that came against Bangladesh.

The achievements of Danesh Kaneria include:

• 61 test matches with 261 wickets.
• 18 ODI matches with 15 wickets.
• 65 T20 matches with 87 wickets.

Subhash Gupte was one of the finest spin bowlers in Test cricket. Gupte had the ability to turn the balls sharply.

Gupte had two different googlies and sharply flighted and spun the ball. His only weakness was that he used to lose his confidence when the batsman would attack his bowls.

Gupte is a well-known name in cricket history due to his exceptional bowling performance and gentlemanly demeanour on the field. He was regarded as the best leg spinner of all time by Sir Garry Sobers (maybe even better than Shane Warne).

According to former India captain Nari Contractor, he was the most accurate bowler as a leg spinner he has ever seen.

The achievements of Subhash Gupte include:

• Only 36 Test matches with 149 wickets.

Ravindra Jadeja is an Indian international cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman who bowls left-arm orthodox spin.

He captained the Chennai Super Star club in the IPL. Along with being one of the best spinners in the history of cricket, he is also considered among the best fielder of all time.

Jadeja was also the captain of the Indian under 19 cricket team that won the World Cup in Malaysia in 2008. He represented the Gujarat franchise after the Chennai franchise was suspended for two years after the 2015 season. He was one of three people retained when the Chennai team was re-established in 2018.

He was named captain of the team after being retained for Chennai in the year 2022. However, halfway through the season, he gave the captaincy to MS Dhoni in order to focus on his game and bowling.

Jadeja is a striking all-rounder who is a left-hand batter, an accurate left-arm spinner, and one of the best fielders in world cricket. The sword-like swinging bat celebration personifies this outstanding cricketer’s fighting spirit.

The awards of Ravindra Jadeja include:

• ICC ODI Team of the Year award in the years 2013 and 2016.
• Madhavrao Scindia Award for most wickets in Ranji Trophy in the year 2008 to 2009.
• Awarded with Arjuna award in 2019.

The achievements of Ravindra Jadeja include:

• Ranked 1st in ICC Top 10 Test all-rounders in the year 2021.
• 60 Test matches with 242 wickets.
• 171 ODI matches with 189 wickets.
• 64 T20I matches with 64 wickets.
• 292 T20 matches with 194 wickets.

Daniel Vettori is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer. Vettori was the 200th player to win their Test cricket cap for New Zealand.

Vettori made his Test cricket debut in February 1997 at the age of 18, becoming the youngest male player to represent New Zealand. With 112 Test caps and 291 ODI caps, he is New Zealand’s most-captured Test and ODI cricketer.

He served as the country’s captain from 2007 to 2011.  He was an all-rounder and was the eighth player in the annals of Test cricket to take 300 wickets and 3,000 runs.

as a slow moving orthodox left-arm spinner, Vettori was renowned for his accuracy, flight, and cunningness rather than his extraordinary turn. After the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Vettori declared his retirement from all forms of cricket. He has since held a variety of coaching positions.

The awards of Daniel Vettori include:

•  Awarded with player-of-the-Year award for the fourth time
• Awarded with Winsor Cup for first-class bowling.
• Awarded with the Walter Hadlee trophy for being the best ODI bowler.

The achievements of Daniel Vettori include:

• 113 test matches with 362 wickets.
• 295 ODI matches with 305 wickets.
• 34 T20I matches with 38 wickets.
• 143 T20 with 131 wickets.
• The second New Zealander to take 300 test wickets.
• New Zealand’s most-capped Test cricketer and ODI cricketer.